Schools must rethink concept of education

Two stories in this week's Sentinel & Enterprise paint two different pictures of the state's education system.

One refers to a survey of employers that indicates the majority of them find it increasingly difficult to find workers with the proper skills.

The other showcases Nashoba Valley Technical High School culinary students, who earlier this month again won the best entrée award at the Taste of the Nashoba Valley competition sponsored by the Nashoba Valley Chamber of Commerce. In doing so, these students outperformed chefs from several well-known restaurants.

The employers' survey was referenced in a study released Monday by the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, which says the state's education system must be revamped in order to meet the needs of the 21st-century economy.

The solution, according to area employers, educators and policy-makers, lies in reforming the curriculum in grades K through 12.

Easier said than done. Even under the current framework that gives individual principals more control over their schools, changing how and what is taught can't be done without jumping through an array of bureaucratic hoops.

But there are short-term solutions.

Creating more spaces in our technical high schools to accommodate the demand would be a sound start.

There's no substitute for the practical experience technical high schools provide.

Nashoba Valley's culinary students can compete with the pros because the school's restaurant and kitchen provide them with a real-world classroom to actually create what they've learned.

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That's replicated in the other programs such schools provide.

It's also a way traditional high schools can meet the needs of their students and employers, with courses designed to equip students with business-friendly skills.

Yes, many careers still require a four-year college degree, but increasingly, two-year technical colleges and community colleges are a path to well-paying jobs.

Community colleges like Mount Wachusett have been tasked by the governor to provide the skills area employers need. That mandate becomes easier to fulfill when their incoming students already had a taste of those disciplines in high school.

This is just one piece of the puzzle. Other jobs requiring advanced math and engineering skills also go begging for lack of qualified candidates, forcing employers to seek foreign help to fill their needs.

These are the challenges the administration, led by Mitchell Chester, the state commissioner of elementary and secondary education, must solve.-- By The Sun of Lowell editorial board, Digital First Media

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